a great action thrill ride

Rating: 8/10 (4 January 2006)

"The Island" was not always on my "must-see" list, but rather on my "get away from it" list. After seeing it, I was very happy I did. The acting is good, with a good and original storyline for an action movie, and it is directed by a veteran of the business in Michael Bay. First off, the action scenes are downright awesome. From a gigantic letter on a building crashing to the streets, to a futuristic motorcycle chase, to some pretty crazy gunfight scenes, "The Island" is a thriller that will surely entertain you.
Golden Globe Nominee Ewan McGregor (Star Wars: Episodes I, II, and III) and Golden Globe Nominee Scarlett Johansson (In Good Company) star as the hero and heroine of the story, with some funny supporting help from Steve Buscemi (Monsters, Inc.; Billy Madison), and some assistance at the end from Oscar Nominee Djimon Housou (Constantine; Amistad). The opposing character is played by Sean Bean (Flightplan, National Treasure), who is great as always. McGregor's only fault is that he doesn't hide his Scottish accent too well, and it sort of downplays the comedy of the scene where he encounters himself, but with an accent. Johansson's only job in the movie is to look good and say cool one liners, but she does that first one great. Buscemi is funny, and Hounsou is a real bad a**, if you know what I mean. The film is directed by Michael Bay, who proves that he can definitely take on a project like this. Viewers beware, if you get lost in plots of movies easily, you should stay away, because it can be very confusing. That's why I'm not going to bother to explain the plot, because it would take too long. In a nutshell, this is it: Two people (McGregor & Johansson) find out that they are clones of real people out in the real world, which they don't know exists, for their director (Sean Bean) keeps them in a military bunker underground. Their purpose is to serve as a sort of...insurance policy, as we're told many times throughout. McGregor's real world counterpart is an architect, while Johansson's is an actress/model (the real world counterparts are played by the same actors).
All in all, "The Island" is a great ride that you'll enjoy from start to finish, which is a long time. This movie is on the long side, but it needs to be for the plot. Have a great time watching this one, I know I did!!
The Island 8/10 Runtime: 136 minutes (2 hours, 16 minutes)
--spy